Monika Tripathi © ECCO

Elective or emergency surgical interventions in the management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are mainly reserved for patients with medical refractory disease and life-threatening complications. Approximately 20%–30% of Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and 70%–80% of Crohn’s Disease (CD) patients will need surgery within the first to second decade following primary disease diagnosis [1].

Fighting for growth in paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Amit Assa^1,2

Amit Assa © ECCO

Growth retardation is commonly seen in children diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), mainly those with Crohn's Disease (CD). The aetiology of poor growth in children with IBD is multifactorial and includes malnutrition, poor intake, increased nutritional needs, elevated inflammatory cytokines, genetic factors (parental height, CD susceptibility genes) and corticosteroid therapy. Growth retardation may be present years before diagnosis of IBD, and it commonly persists despite disease-specific treatments, with implications for final adult height and consequent social and psychological burden.

Michel Adamina © ECCO

The 13^th European Colorectal Congress starts on Sunday December 1, 2019 with a Masterclass in Colorectal Surgery and ends on Thursday December 5, 2019. About 1,400 participants from 80 countries are expected to attend the St. Gallen Colorectal Week (www.colorectalsurgery.eu, @ECCongress). Michel Adamina, from S-ECCO, is co-organising the meeting.

Lihi Godny © ECCO

Total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the surgery of choice for patients with refractory Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Following the first-year post operatively the pouch is adapted to the ileal content efflux and most patients have 5-8 bowel movements a day and one nocturnal. Stool and gas incontinence, episodic nocturnal soiling and use of anti-diarrheal medications are common^1–4. Since patients often relate symptoms to food (especially fruit and vegetable, dairy products and spicy foods), food avoidance is prevalent in up to 70% of the patients⁵. Therefore, patients after pouch surgery should be routinely assessed and treated by a dietitian within the setting of a multidisciplinary team⁶.

Nutritional deficiencies including iron, vitamin B12 and vitamin D are common and should be monitored and addressed⁷. Fluids and electrolytes imbalances are common in patients with increased number of bowel movements and need to be managed in order to avoid dehydration.

Wladzia Czuber-Dochan  © ECCO

Petra Hartmann © ECCO

The ECCO IBD Nurse Education Programme was introduced in 2018, with Italy being chosen as the first country to run the Programme. The Programme consists of two face-to-face meetings, one at the beginning and one at the end of the Programme, six online modules that nurses complete as self-directed learning, and a one-week visit to an IBD centre in the home country. The Programme, which ran from November 2018 to May 2019, was coordinated by an experienced IBD Nurse, Simona Radice, with help and support from Gionata Fiorino, consultant gastroenterologist. Both Simona and Gionata work at Humanitas Hospital in Milan, where the face-to-face meetings took place.

Glen Doherty © ECCO

The generation of high-quality practice guidelines remains a key priority for ECCO as an organisation. Arising from an important initiative by the Governing Board, in the last year GuiCom has introduced significant changes in the way that ECCO Guidelines are created. These changes have been introduced to ensure that we are using the best methodology in the creation of our guidelines, in line with international best practice. By adopting this approach, we will ensure that ECCO Guidelines stand up to robust external scrutiny, that they remain objective and evidence based, and that conflicts of interest are not permitted to influence guideline recommendations.

Naila Arebi © ECCO

The cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv served as the location for the 61^st ECCO Educational Workshop. On the 12 June, over 100 delegates from across Israel attended this interactive and productive workshop, which also offered plenty of opportunities for networking over coffee and lunch breaks.

Henit Yanai © ECCO

The 18th ECCO IBD Intensive Advanced Course, Vienna 2020

The European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) brings together national groups and individuals interested in different aspects of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). One of ECCO’s core aims is to promote education in the field of IBD and thereby improve the quality of care for IBD patients throughout Europe.

The annual ECCO IBD Intensive Advanced Course was initiated in 2003 with the general aim of providing advanced fellows and junior faculty in gastroenterology with a multidisciplinary broad base of knowledge in IBD. The course consists of lectures and workshops dealing with controversial areas of IBD pathogenesis, diagnosis and management, delivered by leading experts in the field of IBD.

2nd ECCO-ESGAR Basic Imaging Workshop 

Marietta Iacucci  © ECCO

Christian Maaser © ECCO

In 2020 the Educational Programme at the ECCO Congress will again include two combined workshops devoted to IBD imaging. The first will be centered on basic endoscopy, ultrasound and MRI while the second will focus on advancements in intestinal ultrasound. Both workshops will be possible thanks to the extensive cooperation of gastroenterologists with experience in intestinal imaging from ECCO and our partner societies (ESGAR).

The 2^nd ECCO-ESGAR Basic Imaging Workshop will educate attendees in how to make a precise diagnosis and how to better direct the therapeutic management of IBD patients using the latest imaging technologies. It is designed for gastroenterologists, endoscopists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists and other interdisciplinary medical experts interested in diagnostic imaging and endoscopy of Inflammatory Bowel Disease(s) (IBD). The course has been successful and highly requested in the past few years, and we have decided to run the course twice on the same day this year to enable more participants to attend.

Take your study to the next level with the IBD National Study Group Meeting at the ECCO Congress

Uri Kopylov © ECCO

The Clinical Research Committee of ECCO (ClinCom) was established with the mission of facilitating innovative clinical research in the area of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). It acts as an organ for the delivery of advice on investigator-initiated proposals: Throughout the year, investigators who are also ECCO Members are invited to submit their protocols for an objective and in-depth review process by the Committee. 

In order to promote international scientific collaboration through cooperation of researchers from different European countries even further, ClinCom has established the IBD National Study Group Meeting, which will take place at the annual ECCO Congress. At the last ECCO Congress in Copenhagen, representatives of IBD National Study Groups gathered for the 4^th edition of the meeting. With this great platform, ClinCom enables investigators to have their studies challenged and promoted at the same time.